What're You Doing Here?
by phantomosolace
Summary: Target AU. In which Nico has trouble finding gifts for his friends and family in Target, and asks for help from the very useful (and cute) employee from the supermarket. Solangelo with snippets of other canon ships too.
1. Chapter 1

Nico stared at the multiple aisles with a dumbfounded look. Where was he going to start? He needed to find a gift for Hazel fast. Her birthday party was in three hours. And it would take at least 45 minutes to get there.

Nico was currently in Target, the closest supermarket to his apartment. He would've gone to Walmart (How he wished he could've gone there. They had a McDonald's there.) but he didn't want to drive that far… _That's what you keep telling yourself._

In reality, Walmart was just across the street, practically equal distance from his apartment than Target. The only real reason Nico wanted to go to Target was because Wil- no. He wanted to go to Target because he wanted wild wings. Buffalo wild wings. Definitely not because of _him._

Just a few weeks ago, Nico had been secretly looking at the newest pack of Mythomagic cards at Target. He, the angst-filled, gloomy teen, was a closet Mythomagic nerd. And while Nico was intensely staring at the pack, he heard footsteps coming his way. He immediately jumped and speed walked towards the video game section. Gods forbid, if anyone found him looking at the toys section. At least some of the video games were for his age group.

Sneaking a peek from behind the glass case of the newest Xbox games, Nico slowly turned to look for the kid who would've found him lurking with the Mythomagic toys. To his surprise, it wasn't a kid. It was freaking Will Solace. Will Solace worked here. At Target! And to Nico's pleasure, he looked so cute in his red polo and khakis.

He and Will had a few classes together as they were both Juniors, but they rarely talked. Nico secretly crushed on him for Will was - how to put it lightly- hot. He'd helped in fixing Nico up multiple times from sports injuries, and even assisted with Nico's recovery in the hospital (another story for later) where Will volunteered.

Everyone saw Nico as an "emo", or a "punk goth" who was depressed and brooded all the time. Those were very false predictions though… Scratch that, only half of them were false, ok? Nico was, in fact, actually diagnosed with depression after the death of his older sister. And sure he brooded, but he was very introverted. As for the emo/punk goth rumors, they only spread because of his clothing choice. Sure he liked all the other colors, but he preferred to wear black. And he loves to wear his aviator jacket. And black skinny jeans. He did have sort of a punk-ish attitude. But it meant a lot to Nico that he and Will had a sort of friendship. I mean, they were only close acquaintances, but Will was always kind (and quite frankly, adorable) and to Nico, that had a huge significance.

Nico really wasn't a people person. He only made a few friends, and those few friends became the closest people in his life. I mean he's got Percy and Annabeth, Jason and Piper, Hazel and Frank, and he also considered Leo and Calypso very close too. As you can tell, they're all couples. Nico's the odd one out. Except for Reyna, who was also single, his best friend/not-related sister, but she's all the way out in California with a super important and really busy job. It didn't help that Nico wasn't even interested in girls.

Try as he might, Nico was a hopeless romantic that privately wished he and Will could be together. _I doubt he's gay though…_

Anyway, Nico's love for Will obviously trumped his love for McDonald's, and ever since he found out Will worked there, he went to Target on a weekly basis and completely ignored Walmart. He was obviously in denial. **(AN: "** _ **You're way off base, I won't say it. Get off my case! I won't say it. Girl don't be proud it's okay you're in love. Oooh, at least out loud, I won't say I'm in love.")**_

His frequent Target trips always had an excuse. Today's was buffalo _wil_ d wings. Last week's excuse was that he needed fertilizer for his _will_ ow tree. Last _last_ week's was to buy weed killer to annihilate the _wil_ d flowers in his small garden. The only reason why he waited this long to get Hazel's gift was because he wanted to catch Will on his shift.

Basket in hand, he marched towards the food section instead. If he was going to find Hazel a gift, he might as well get his grocery shopping done. And hopefully waste enough time to find Will.

After a solid ten minutes of deciding what ice cream he should get, Nico finally started his search for the perfect present. He first got a gift bag ( a very generic one with pastel-colored balloons saying "Happy Birthday!") and then picked out a card (which was specifically for sisters who are turning 16) which he would very quickly scribble a short, but heart-felt letter to Hazel once he bought the gift. The gift… which was currently nonexistent.

He took out his phone and scrolled down his contact list, hoping to find someone that would help him, but quickly abandoned the idea. His friends wouldn't be that much help in any case. Nico glanced up to see a tall, blonde, Target employee walking to the pharmacy section. As he turned the corner, Nico confirmed from the sunny smile and his sky blue eyes that it was Will. Nico instantly followed Will at a fast pace, forming a plan in his mind. He'd pretend he didn't know Will worked there, ask for help, and-

"Nico! Hi! Nice to see you!"

"BUFFALO WILD WINGS!" he blurted. Oh. My. Gods. Ohmygods. Ohmygods, ohmygods, ohmygods. What the hell is wrong with you, Nico? He could already see how red his face looked right now. Just stick to the plan! "Umm, I mean, Solace? You work here?" Nico asked meekly.

"Yeah, it's kind of my parttime job." Will replied with a grin.

"Cool. Can you help me then? I'm having some trouble." Stop staring like an idiot! He tried his best not to look so flustered.

"Uhh, sure. Trouble with what?"

"I don't know what to get my sister. It's her birthday today, and I forgot to get a gift, and I don't know what to do." Nico said in a flourish.

"Oh. Okay, umm, what does your sister like?" Will asked.

He thought for a second, "Horses. She also likes to draw. And write sometimes. Jewelry. I don't know."

Will chuckled. And my gods, it was the most beautiful thing Nico had heard in his entire life.

"Oh, Nico. You look so scared! Don't worry so much, I bet your sister will love your present no matter what. Especially with all the effort you're putting into finding the perfect gift. Here, why don't you buy her a necklace or some earrings, or get some sketchbooks or something in the art aisle?"

Of course. Why didn't he think of that? _Because you're too caught up in that beautiful smile of his, duh._ "Er, wow. Thanks, Solace. Um, where exactly is the art aisle?"

"I'll show you. Come on!" Will started walking. To avoid a semi-awkward silent walk, Will piped up, "Sooo, who knew the great Nico di Angelo's favorite ice cream flavor was mint chocolate chip?"

Nico turned red and looked down. "Sh- shut up, Solace. I'm just trying new flavors."

He glanced down at me, "Mhmm, suuurre. That's what they all say." he said with a smirk on his face. "That's ok though. It also happens to be my favorite too! There we go! Art section for art supplies. What kind of sketchbook would she need?"

They stayed in the aisle for a few minutes. In the end, Nico ended up getting some really fancy pencils, some charcoal pieces, and a pocket sized sketchbook for her to use when she travels.

"If you're ready, I can check you out in the front."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry- I didn't mean to- I meant- it wasn't supposed to- sorry- I'm really sorry. You know what? I'll just do my job now." Will apologized quickly.

"Nah, it's ok."

"Are you sure? I didn't mean for it to sound like that. I don't want to check you out- I mean, I would, but- Oh, gosh, I'm just making it even more awkward, aren't I?" Will put his head in his hands, trying to hide the blush creeping up his neck.

"Solace, stop freaking out. You just- I don't know- next time, just think before you speak. Now shut up and scan my ice cream. It's melting by the second." Nico tried his best to keep a calm demeanor, but when your crush says something like that, you can't not react. **(AN: Double negative. X{ Sorry)** His face was the shade of a pomegranate. Wait- did Will want to check him out? Or was he just being nice?

They finished the rest in silence while Nico took out his credit card. As he picked up the last bag, Will turned to him.

"Thanks."

"For what?"

He shrugged, "For being a good customer and stuff. Thanks for shopping at Target!"

"You're welcome. Thank you for helping me find a gift and all."

"No problem, I'm always happy to help. Tell your sister I say Happy Birthday!"

"Sure thing! Um, thanks, again." Nico turned, allowing a small smile. He got to his sister's party just in time, and when Hazel opened his present and hugged him to death for getting her new art supplies, Nico silently thanked Will.

* * *

 **So! What'd'ya think? This is my first time writing a story, so reviews and tips are all welcome! If you want a specific thing/scene to happen in the story, by all means, pm the idea to me! My sister actually thought of this, and I really wanted it to be written, so I made it myself. Sorry for any grammatical errors in the story.**

 **-Phantomosolace**


	2. Chapter 2

"Percy?" Nico asked, squinting, determining whether or not it was Percy he was seeing.

"Nico! Hi! What are you shopping for?" Percy waved as Nico walked over and pulled up his sleeves.

A few months ago before school started, Nico had stood up and admitted his slight(ly huge) crush on Percy _(What do you mean I'm not your type?)_ , and the fact that he was over him. Annabeth of course had been supportive as well as the rest of his friends. It'd been a bit awkward between him and Percy for a while though (who wouldn't be?), but now, they were closer than ever. Over the past year, Percy (and Jason!) had made an effort to be "big bros" to Nico, especially since Percy was leaving for college in a year.

"Umm," Nico nervously laughed. "Graduation presents… for you and Annabeth." He was in fact getting presents for them since their graduation was next week. He definitely wasn't going to mindlessly waste his time at Target just to talk to Will…

"Aww, you're getting presents for us? How sweet of you!" Percy ruffled Nico's hair.

"Well, I mean, you deserve it. Your graduation is kind of a big thing. I have no idea how you even passed your classes."

"Why thank you, I- Hey! Excuse me, good sir, but I do have a brain inside my head! I am smart contrary to your belief." Percy scoffed.

Nico rolled his eyes. "Really?"

Percy huffed, defeated. "Fine. It was all Annabeth. She tutored me and everything."

"Exactly. So, what are _you_ shopping for, Jackson?"

"Well for your information, I need cleaning supplies."

Nico looked at him with a deadpan expression. "You. Cleaning?"

"If I don't clean, I don't get to eat!" Percy exclaimed.

"Of course. It's all for food for you."

"Oh, hush, Nico. Just help me choose which spray works better." Thus, Percy and Nico contemplated over the multiple bottles of cleaning concoctions on the shelves.

"Dude," Percy lightly shoved Nico, "What's the difference between 'super' and 'ultra' clean?"

"How the hell am I supposed to know? I'm not even supposed to be helping you!"

"But, Nico! The shower walls need to be pristine! Heeelllppp meeeeeee!" Percy pouted and pulled on Nico's sleeve. Nico pulled his arm back, and glared at Percy.

"I am this close," he held up his thumb and forefinger less than half an inch away, "to leaving you behind and continuing my shopping in peace."

Percy didn't seem to care. His interest was now towards the Target employee walking past the aisle. "Hey! Will! Can you help me?"

Nico internally flinched. How did Percy know Will?

Will walked up to the pair with a small smile and a wave. "Hi, Percy!" He looked at Nico with a slight pink color on his cheeks, "Hi, Nico."

Nico, whose face was also dusted with blush, replied, "Hey, Solace." and smirked back in attempt to keep his cool.

Percy looked at Nico in confusion. "You know him?"

Nico did his best to keep the color off his cheeks. "Yeah, I know him. We go to school together. And he's helped me before."

Will scrunched his eyebrows. Was that all Will was to Nico? Just his classmate and a helpful Target worker? He thought they were more than that. Especially since they hang out more often when Nico came to visit (more like shopped) at Target.

Percy stepped back, put a hand on his hip, and gave his the look. "Mhmm?" And with a look of sudden recognition, Percy leaned down, grinning, and whispered into Nico's ear, "Oh my gosh, is he - you know - your _type_?"

Nico elbowed Percy in the gut. Hard. "If I were you, I'd stop talking right now."

Despite the pain Percy felt in his abdomen, he started laughing uncontrollably. "Oh my gosh, you should've seen the look on your face! Ha!"

"Shut UP, Jackson! How the hell do _you_ know Solace, huh?" Nico glared.

Percy was still giggling. "Wait- heehee- what did Will help you with?"

"He," Nico pointed at Will, "helped me pick out a gift for Hazel."

Will nodded in approval. "Yeah, that was a few weeks ago." He wanted to add _Oh, We also talk a lot and make fun of random products we find._ But that would be insignificant to the conversation.

"You mean for her birthday? Bro, she totally loved your gift! I'm pretty sure she'd have loved it even if you didn't get really awesome art supplies." Percy stated.

"That's what I told him!" Will exclaimed.

"Pshh, I just wanted something practical for her to use. You never answered my question, Jackson. How do you know Solace?"

"Oh yeah, well- well he helped me too!"

"With what?"

Percy thought for a second to remember what happened. "Last week, I was over at Montauk for my dad's birthday, remember? And since I didn't know what to get him, I asked Will and he suggested to buy him blue jelly beans, and low and behold, he loved them! Thanks, man." Percy patted Will's shoulder.

He smiled shyly in return and replied, "No problem."

Nico stared at Percy like he was insane. "You didn't even know what to get your father?"

"Hey! You can't judge, you didn't know what to get Hazel, and she's your sister!"

"But your father's, like, the easiest to shop for! He's obsessed with the ocean and fish and stuff."

"Yeah, but he practically owns every single fishing rod there is in the world. And every boat."

Will's head snapped between the two. "I think I'm going to go now."

"NO!" both Percy and Nico shouted.

Will held up his hands as if to shield himself. "I'm sorry!" he squeaked. "Wait. Why was I called here in the first place?"

Percy frowned, disappointed in himself for forgetting. Nico on the other hand asked, "Percy wanted to ask, 'What's the difference between 'super' and 'ultra' clean?'. I think the better question would be, 'Which cleaning spray thing works best on shower tiles?'"

Will looked exasperatedly at Nico and Percy. "You do know that I don't actually know all the products in the store? I just shelve them and stuff."

"Yeah, yeah, what's your opinion though?" Percy looked at Will with hopeful eyes as if his thoughts on cleaning supplies would prevent the human apocalypse from happening.

Slightly freaked out about the amount importance Percy held for cleaning, Will took a small step back and picked something random off the shelf. "Ultra. Ultra is the best," he guessed.

Percy looked at Nico and gestured to Will, "See? This guy is a lifesaver!"

Nico had an annoyed look on his face. Thanks to Percy he'd just wasted 15 minutes of his life that he could've been using to buy a meaningful gift for the idiot and Annabeth.

Will, albeit glad that he could help out Nico and a sort-of-stranger/friend of Nico, had to get back to work. "Well, if you are ready, sir, I can check out your items for you in the front." Will looked at Nico and winked. "I said it right this time!"

Nico smirked. "You sure did, Solace."

* * *

 **Chapter two down! Sorry, it's a bit short. I tried to make it funnier with Percy. Thanks for reading! Consider reviewing!**

 **-Phantomosolace**


	3. Chapter 3

Once again, Nico was greeted with the refreshing, cold air of Target. It smelled faintly of fresh coffee and popcorn as he pulled his jacket tighter around him. He walked over to the assembly of carts in the middle. He needed something way bigger than a basket.

Today, his purpose was to find a gift for his favorite godson, Chuck Hedge, and buy whatever party decorations he could find. Little Chuck was turning one today, and as his honorary godfather, he and Clarisse (Chuck's godmother) were in charge of party preparations. And of course, they were going to go all out. Hence, Nico was planning on stuffing the cart with tons of packets of streamers and banners and confetti.

He strolled down slowly, pulling the squeaking cart behind him in one hand. They had agreed that Clarisse and Coach Hedge's wife, Mellie, would be the ones actually decorating the house tomorrow morning. Nico was just supposed to buy the stuff this afternoon.

He'd already paid a rather uncomfortable visit to Party City. Nico had spent two hours in the warm-aired store, picking and choosing over 50 different items. It got especially unpleasant when he was comparing three different types of plastic tablecloths (Would the green and gray patterned one clash with the blue? What about the dark red?) and the two girls standing at the cash register were staring at him. He could feel their gaze even as he walked towards the were considering if they should help the clueless, black-haired young man in the aisle and eventually came up to him.

"Um, excuse me, sir, would you like any help?" the girl asked politely. He got that he probably looked like a moron, standing there for what seemed like ages, but he tried his best to look like he knew what he was doing.

Nico turned, "No, thank you. I'm fine." He was not, however, fine at all. Nico was clearly worried, and decided to go with and assortment of blues, reds, browns, and black utensils, plates, napkins, and cups (as the theme was pirates, but all of the pirate themed stuff was either sold out, or not enough). He should've asked Clarisse to come with him before he left. The girl left, uncertain, but continued to chat with her friend at the cash register. They didn't talk until Nico came up to the front, finished with his shopping.

So here he was, at Target, after an excruciatingly long trip to Party City. He just wanted to get the whole thing over. His feet were swollen and tired, his stomach gurgled for lack of food, and his eyes drooped from exhaustion. He needed a nap. And a snack.

He shoved party decorations mindlessly off the shelf and into his cart. He started the day off more or less excited, but right now, he didn't even care anymore. He already got most of the party materials. This was just the cherry on top. Hopefully Mellie and Clarisse could make something out of them.

Nevertheless, he trudged on to find a gift. The familiar feelings of hesitation and doubt came back just like it did when he was getting his sister's gift. At least this time, he knew where to go.

He finally decided on getting Chuck a long, plastic pirate sword he found in the back despite the fact the the kid was only a year old ( _He'd grow into it, right?_ ).

Nico was in fact fascinated with the sword. The blade was painted a shiny silver, and the handle felt good and light in his palm. He tossed it experimentally in his hands, feeling the balance.

As a young child, he had been forced to take fencing classes for 4 years because it was his father's attempt to make him socialize. His father didn't fail - that's where Nico met Percy and Annabeth. He also happened to pick up a bunch of other different sword fighting techniques from their teacher, Chiron.

Nico looked around to check if anyone was watching. Surprisingly, not a lot of people go to Target on Thursday afternoons.

With one final toss, Nico caught it with his right hand and fell into the standard sword fighting stance. After a brief second, he started to lash at the air in front of him, as if attacking a real opponent. He parried to the right, jabbed, and parried to the left. With a giant _whoosh_ , Nico slashed from the upper right to the bottom left, and knocked over a bunch of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle masks off the shelf.

 _Shoot._ Nico looked around frantically. Did anyone hear it fall? He dropped the sword, and quickly started picking the toys up and putting them back on the shelf.

He heard a snicker.

Nico froze. He stepped back and pretended to look like he was choosing one of the TMNT toys, trying not to look too suspicious. He stared at the one with the blue mask, which was more like a ribbon, and vaguely remembered watching the crime-fighting turtles named after artists in the Renaissance.

"My favorite one's Michelangelo." Will said, walking out from behind the aisle and bursted out in laughter.

Nico's head snapped to the voice. "Will!" His face was red with embarrassment (he was also blushing due to the fact that he got Will to laugh). Will's face, however, was red from guffawing. "Will! Oh my goodness. Stop laughing!"

Will couldn't stop though. He was clutching his stomach, his eyes squeezed shut from pure laughter, which was starting to sound like wheezing. He looked like he was going to fall over.

"Will!" He scolded, "Stop it!" But Will's laughter had started to affect Nico. He too had started smiling and chuckling lightly. Will's giggles died down soon, but the giant grin stayed on his face.

"Uhh, how long have you been standing there?" Nico asked.

Will rubbed his neck. "Not that long…" Nico raised his eyebrow. "Fine. I saw your whole sword thing. Which was really cool by the way!" Will looked at him in admiration, giving Nico the chills. "I never knew you knew how to sword fight! It was really awesome!"

"It's just a little something I learned." Nico shrugged it off. His sword-fighting skills were unimportant.

"A little something?" Will looked at Nico incredulously. "That's a huge something! It makes you even cooler!" Will blushed. "I mean not that you weren't cool before. You are cool- I just meant- well- err."

Nico blushed even more with the compliment. "Thanks, Solace. But it's nothing, really. I mean, who in this day and age would use a sword?"

Will shook his head. "Who cares? You can clearly defend yourself if there's a sword-like stick or something around. You mastered the art of sword fighting- well, I mean, it looks like you mastered sword fighting with those skills. Here, I'll show you. Where'd you find that?" Will asked, pointing to the sword.

Nico pointed to the wall behind him with his elbow. "Over there. Wait, are you-"

"Yep," Will said, interrupting his words. He took a sword and turned around."I'm challenging you to a duel."

Nico stared at him. "But you don't know the first thing to fencing, much less skilled sword fighting."

"Exactly." Will looked back at him, challenging him.

Nico's competitive side took over. "Oh, you're so going down, Solace."

In a flash, Will lunged at him. Nico easily deflected it. Will lunged again and again, each attack met with Nico's sword. It was a weird sight to see. A tall, young, blonde Target employee attacking a shorter, paler, black-haired teen. With a sword. He was obviously failing miserably. Nico deflected again bored, and decided to take an offensive move.

He jabbed and lightly slashed Will's arm. "I just cut your arm off."

Will switched his sword to his left hand and looked at his arm with wide eyes. "Hey!" He dropped his arms to his side.

Nico wasn't done. He jabbed Will's left leg. "Don't ever keep your guard down. You're one legged now."

"No fair!" Will playfully pouted and raised his sword and started lunging again. Well, lunging as best he could, hopping on his right leg.

Nico deflected his moves just as easily as before. He jabbed at Will's chest. "I just stabbed your heart." He smirked. "You're dead."

Will fell to the floor on his knees, putting a hand on his chest. "You didn't! You cold-blooded monster!" He started chuckling again.

"WILLIAM SOLACE!"

Both Nico and Will froze.

Will stood up quickly and turned around. "Yes, m'am?" he asked weakly.

"You're on register duty! You cannot just leave me there with a giant line of whiny customers to flirt!" reprimanded the short girl, another Target employee, about Nico and Will's age.

"I- I wasn't flirting!" Will denied, holding up his hands.

The girl seemed livid. "I DON'T care! You left me alone with some very whiny customers!"

Will looked apologetic. "I'm sorry, Lou Ellen, I was just helping out Nico here." Will shot a glare at Nico as if to say _play along._

Nico, scrambling for words splurted out, "Oh, um yeah, Solace was just helping me see if this sword worked… um well...enough for my godson. Chuck. He's turning one tomorrow."

Lou Ellen's expression changed entirely from angry to super cheery. "Well in that case, carry on. Nice meeting you, Nico." She glared at Will. "Once you're finished though, help me out in the front." She smiled again and left.

Will chuckled nervously. "That was my friend, Lou Ellen. She's in the same grade as us. She tends to be like that."

"Interesting."

"Yeah. I better go now. She'll be even madder- is that a word?" Nico shook his head. "Oh, well, then, she'll be ven more made if I'm not there in five minutes. Are you done shopping yet?"

Nico sighed. "Yes, yes. You can check my stuff out in the front."

Will smiled and Nico's heart skipped a beat. "You know me so well."

They walked to the check-out/register area. Will asked, "Wait, when you were talking about the kid named Chuck earlier, you don't happen to mean baby Chuck, as in Chuck Hedge, were you?"

Nico started unloading his items on the conveyor belt thing and gave Will a questioning look. "Yeah. I'm his godfather. That's why I bought all these party decorations."

Will's eyes brightened even more. "Oh my gosh! Um, that's great! I'm going to his party tomorrow!"

Nico, though happy to see Will tomorrow asked, "Cool. Um, how do you know Chuck, may I ask?"

"Oh! I helped Mellie deliver the baby."

Nico looked shocked. "Oh my gosh, that was you?" Will nodded. "That's amazing! Even more amazing than my mad sword skills!"

It was Will's turn to look embarrassed from the compliment. "Thank you. That'll be $83.42"

Nico slid his credit card and proceeded to gather his bags.

"Thanks. For the sword fight and stuff. I'll see you tomorrow then!" Will said cheerily.

Nico raised his eyebrows with a playful look in his eye. "Yup. Thanks, for the help, Will! See you 'till then!"

* * *

 **I'm very sorry for all grammatical errors you might find in here. Thank you all for all the reviews and favorites and stuff! Please, if you have any suggestions, share them!**

 **-Phantomosolace**


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note! It has occurred to me that people in other countries probably have no idea what Target is (thank you to the guest who commented about that). It's the second largest American retailing company/supermarket (Walmart is the first largest American retailing company/supermarket). You can find out more about it on Wikipedia and stuff. I tried to put it into the revised summary (please review if the change was effective). Now, onto the story!**

At Chuck's birthday party (which was surprisingly ok), Nico had spent most of his time talking with Will and carrying the birthday boy around. It was astonishing that he was actually socializing with another human being at a party of all places with a guy which he was somewhat infatuated with. They discussed a lot of different topics, including the legalization of gay marriage in all fifty states. Their conversation went a little like this:

"Oh, dude did you hear about same-sex marriage is now legal in the US?" Will asked. His eyes shone with happiness and what looked like a hint of anticipation.

"Yeah…" Nico said nervously. "LGBT for the win!" He added just for the heck of it.

"Hell yeah!" Will shouted passionately. Heads turned and stared at the pair. Nico heard Leo snickering from the window. He just wanted to shrink into oblivion where no one could see him. Will on the other hand, just waved at the people and said, "Uh, sorry. You can go back to talking now."

With a sigh of relief, Will turned back to Nico and apologized. "Heh, sorry. I didn't mean to sound so enthusiastic."

Nico slumped into his chair as the gentle hum of party conversations grew. "It's ok."

Will formed a plan which he thought was ingenious. "It's just that…" he paused for effect, "I'm… you know- gay." Bam! He dropped the bomb. Will felt so clever. It was now or never. He kept his act up by look shy and letting his blush rise to his cheeks.

"Cool."

Will felt deflated. Cool? COOL? That's _all_ he could say? He spent so much time pining for Nico- it was - he was- ughhhhh. Will felt so stupid. He shouldn't have gotten his hopes up. He shouldn't have expected anything. Just because a boy wears skinny jeans doesn't mean that he's gay. Will's overwhelming emotions of sadness, regret, and anger came up in a bubble, rising from the pits of his stomach, and almost popped until-

"Me too."

Wait, whut? It was barely a whisper, but Will heard it. And by the looks of it, Nico knew he heard it too. His face was red, and Nico stared at the ground, eyes wide.

For Nico, it felt like a huge weight was lifted off his chest. He instantly regretted it. Thousands of questions poked Nico's insides, making him even more insecure than he already was. Stupid Nico. Why did he blurt it out so easily? It took him years to confess to Percy and months to just walk out the closet to his family and friends. Why did it come out so easily with Will?

Without knowing what he was doing, Will cupped Nico's cheeks in his hands and tilted his face to look at him. For a second Nico thought Will would kiss him, and he freaked out, but Will just smiled at him and said, "Well that makes two of us."

Realizing what he was doing, Will dropped his hands to his side and started blushing furiously. Nico just mumbled that he needed a bathroom break and left.

By the time he came back, they both looked at each other with a totally different light, examining the possibilities and potentials of the other. By the end of the party, they exchanged numbers.

* * *

For the past few months or so, it's been a habit of Nico's to stop by Target regularly on either Monday, Thursday, or Friday ever since the first few encounters he's had with Will (especially after what happened at the birthday party. Thank goodness for that). He makes sure that he changes up the patterns of the days (for example he won't go on Mondays two weeks in a row, or go in a repeated sequence) so the visits would look more random and less planned.

In fact, they've bonded over his weekly visits ( although Nico tries his best to make his little shopping excursions seem random, Will always expects him to come) so much, that they would both consider each other a friend (much to Nico's disappointment), not close friends, but friends nonetheless. This was proven in his latest shopping trip.

It just so happened to be the second week of summer (2 and a half months since his first little confrontation with Will). They'd only been out of school for two weeks. Two very, very long weeks. And in these two weeks, Nico had been dying of boredom. The only highlight of his week was Will of course, and whenever Jason or someone would drop by his house and drag him around town to make sure he was alive.

For example, on Tuesday, Piper and Annabeth came by to pick Nico up for an outing at the mall. Ever since he came out (Piper knew all along) she had asked him for fashion tips. A horrible idea really, as if all gays were magically bestowed with perfect fashion gifts. Of course, she was way better at choosing clothes and stuff, but if she asked his opinion, Piper knew she could trust him. At least _he_ was more helpful than her boyfriend.

Or, yesterday, Thursday, Hazel talked him into going to Frank's archery competition. Sure the shots were impressive, and there was an exceptional variety of delicious snacks, but it was hot and sunny and Nico was practically dying under his shady umbrella. Although Nico would never admit it, he was glad Hazel and Frank were together. He wouldn't have wanted any other person for his sister.

Other than those unexpected expeditions into the outside world, Nico barely left his home this week. He was bored out of his mind.

His father, Hades (often called Pluto in other countries), was the owner of over 5,000 major funeral homes worldwide. He and Nico's stepmom were often out traveling leaving only Hazel and him to take care of the house (which was more of a mansion). And since Hazel was out 50% of the time, and Nico was the responsible older brother, it was up to him to do all the chores and forage for food.

This particular week though, Nico had run out of his supply of food. Lucky for him and his efficient cleaning methods, he could use the rest of the day for his errand run.

As he got to Target, Nico made a short list in his mind. It didn't take too long, but he wanted to be prepared.

He wrestled with a stubborn, squeaky cart for a few seconds before giving up and choosing a different one.

Nico made his way around, going aisle per aisle, getting what he absolutely needed and speculating the rest. He got everything from shampoo and bodywash to nightlights and kitten litter.

This entire time, however, Will had been watching Nico from afar. He was going to help him out ever since he saw him enter and struggle with the carts, but Will was a curious person, and for once, he observed quietly rather than go up and talk to him. It was kind of stalker-ish, but Will honestly just wanted to know more about him, especially since he was harboring a more or less crush on him. Nico, despite the fact that he was completely oblivious to Will's crush on him, noticed the sunny boy's presence right away. Will's spying skills weren't exactly subtle, so Nico just let him be.

In the pet aisle though, Will was intrigued by the fact that Nico owned a cat. In hopes to surprise and possibly scare him, Will sneaked up behind Nico and asked, "I didn't know you have a cat."

Nico knew all along (when he heard Will's footsteps come closer, it took all his might to keep his blush down and lock it in a safe) that Will was behind him, so he acted like it was nothing. He wouldn't give him the satisfaction of winning.

"I don't have a cat. There's just this stray kitten that likes to go around my house." Nico replied. He wasn't being sarcastic. There actually was a slinky black cat that lurked around his window, and Nico had become quite fond of it. He'd named is Bastet, after the Egyptian cat goddess.

"Oh." Will blinked, surprised that Nico wasn't surprised. Nico, on the other hand, rejoiced silently. It was now an unspoken game to get the other flustered. Nico was winning.

Will backed away and Nico turned around. "I didn't take you as a cat person."

"And why is that, Solace?"

"It's because," Will faltered. He needed a good comeback. "Uh because," Will got an idea. He started to sing, "Because you are so beautiful!"

It was so absurd Nico started to laugh. "Oh my gods, Will. You're ridiculous!" He giggled and shook his head, trying to stop.

"Hey! That was a perfect impression of Boq from Wicked! **(AN: For non-musical-nerds, Boq is a munchkin boy from the musical, Wicked. The line 'because you are so beautiful' came from the song Dancing Through Life** _ **{listen to it…}**_ **. Anyway, carry on with your reading)** I am an aspiring thespian, thank you very much." Will shot him a look. "At least it got you to laugh!"

"Yes, but only because you sounded horrible." Nico snorted.

"Yeah I did. Horrible-y good!"

Nico sighed. "Stop yourself before you get hurt. Don't you have a job to do?"

Will's eyes widened. "Oh yeah. Thanks for reminding me. Don't want Lou Ellen getting mad at me again." He took Nico's cart and ran to the check out line.

Nico ran after him. "Solace? Solace! Solace, what are you doing with my stuff!?"

Will looked back for a second to flash him a grin. "Just doing my job, sir."

Nico sighed and looked up to the ceiling as if to ask 'why do I put up with this?'. _Because you like him…_ Nico shut his mind up.

By the time he got there, Will had already finished checking all his stuff out. "Finally! I was waiting for you for eons! Will that be credit or debit?"

"Credit please. Thanks."

"No problem, Nico. Here." Will shoved a Coke bottle in his hand. "Don't worry. It's on me. Have a nice day!"

It wasn't until Nico got into his car and opened the soda when he noticed the Share a Coke label said 'Friend'.

 **Fourth chapter up! THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL THE REVIEWS AND FAVORITES AND FOLLOWS. The more I read your comments and get notifications saying that someone just followed my story, I feel so honored. It just motivates me even more! Any ideas for the next chapter? I'm just making this up as it goes along. Hope you guys have a great day/week!**

 **-Phantomosolace**


	5. Chapter 5

Nico closed his laptop screen and sighed. He felt drained despite the fact that he hadn't moved in hours.

He'd had a pretty dull weekend since Friday. He'd talked to one of his closest friends, Reyna, for a few minutes over the phone though. She was coming back home in a few days, so that was a plus.

He also picked up a knack for online shopping. It was much better this way to have gifts delivered to your doorstep at the click of a button. Because of all his free time (and frankly because of the unmistakeable amounts laziness in his bones), Nico spent his time buying games and random stuff that he deemed useful. For instance, he bought a set of small, really sharp knives because he didn't like using scissors. He'd also bought some pet supplies for Bastet.

His hand thoughtfully pet the soft kitten sleeping innocently on his lap. He was going to bring her to the vet one of these days (he wasn't even sure if it was a _she_ ).

And although buying things off the internet was more convenient for the son of the di Angelos as he was never one for people skills, Nico still preferred Target.

It was a stupid obsession, a stupid routine he'd gotten himself into. And even though he argued with himself numerous times in the time he was alone, he never brought himself to stop going.

Today, Nico decided that he would be going out today because… he didn't know why. He had already replenished most of his necessities on his last trip to Target _._ There really was no reason to -

"Nicooo?" A nasally voice cried out from across the hall.

He yawned and stood up, placing Bastet on the floor. "Yes?" except Nico was in the midst of yet another yawn so it came out like, "Yeeeaahhhs?" He poked his head in his sister's bedroom.

"Can you do me a favor?" Hazel sniffed and wiped her eyes. Her room was a mess. Her desk was covered in candy wrappers and empty bags of chips and her trashcan was overflowing with tissues. Hazel herself was a mess as well. She was sitting, hunched over her laptop under the blanket on her bed, and her face, especially her nose was red, as if she had been crying.

"Uh, yeah! Yeah, sure. Are you ok?" Nico questioned, worried for his sister. "Why are you crying?" He rubbed her back and brushed off the hair stuck to her face from her tears.

"I'm fine." Hazel sighed lazily waving her hand as if it was nothing. "It's just - ACHOO! - excuse me."

Nico tried not to think of the germs she just sprayed on her laptop. "Bless you."

She blinked wearily, "Thanks. It's just that I'm on my period and I feel terrible and kind of sad so I started watching sad, romcom and drama movies and why it's just- I j- I," she started blabbering, "why does life have to be so sad?" Hazel started sobbing again. "I mean why do people have to die and like fall out of love and stuff? It's so dis- ah- ah- p-p-pointing." She hiccupped, trying to compose herself a little.

Nico stared at his sister. Oh gods, what was he supposed to do? He tried to sound sympathetic yet logical. "Well, yes there are a few bumps in the road, nothing is ever easy." Gosh, he sounded like a total sap. Where was he going with this? Nico continued, unsure, and making things up as he spoke. "So we have to… um- we have to rely on the love that's there and," Hazel nodded along, still wiping her nose with a tissue. "and we have to hold onto that."

Hazel smiled at her brother. He could be so distant and dark at times, but she always knew he was a big softie on the inside.

"But, yeah, people die sometimes - it's inevitable - and people fall out of love - quite often actually." Nico paused, thinking about all the horrible choices people make when in love. "Huh," he realized, "humanity can be so _stupid_ at times."

Hazel groaned. She couldn't blame him though. She'd never seen him in a relationship, much less fall in love.

Nico looked somewhat apologetic towards his sister, "Whelp, what can you do about it? Sorry, I'm not helping."

"No, no- it's ok." She sniffed again before continuing. "I was going to ask you if you could buy me some stuff."

"Of course, anything for my little sister." Nico's throat caught on the word _little_. He almost said 'favorite sister' but stopped himself in time. His chest felt a pang of sadness and worry as if to say, ' _You're forgetting her.'_

Hazel just grinned and said, "Ok, thanks! Here," she shoved a folded piece of paper into Nico's hands. "I made you a list."

Nico frowned at the list, because of both the memory of his sister and because he hoped the list wasn't too long and complicated. "Ok, anything else you want?"

"Nope! Well, maybe, but I'll just call you when I think of it. Bye!" Hazel said, gently shoving him out of her room.

It seemed like Nico found a reason to go to Target.

* * *

"Look, it's a bird!"

Will's head spun around to glance at the aisles behind him when his friend started cracking up. "What? Oh, shut up, Cecil." Will said weakly, slightly red for being so naive.

"Oh, dude! You are so gullible!" Cecil resumed cackling. "Look, it's Nico!"

Will forced his head to stay still. "No, I'm not gullible. And I am _not_ going to turn around. I don't see why you're so -"

"No, I'm serious! He's there!" Cecil pointed behind Will.

Will sighed, "Why are you, like, obsessed with trying to get Nico and I together? It's creepy man. A-and I am not falling for this trick again!"

"You're not falling for this trick! You're just falling in loooove." Cecil winked at him. "How else would you explain the blushing, am I right?" Will turned red, covered his face, and murmured back an angry comment, silently cursing himself for being so weak.

"Hi, Will. Hi, Cecil."

Both Will and Cecil's heads snapped towards Nico who was walking towards them with a basket.

"Oh, so you weren't joking." Will said incredulously, turning to Cecil.

He rolled his eyes. "Duh."

"Joking about what?" Nico asked. "Cecil, I didn't know you worked here too." The two were acquaintances from school, as Cecil's locker was right next to his.

"Oh nothing. I just generally enjoy Target!" He spread his arms wide and smiled at his surroundings. "And why else did you think Solace here would work here?" Cecil gestured to Will with his thumb.

Will scrunched his face (Nico found it cute). "You only applied for the job here to flirt with Lou Ellen. And then _I_ followed _you_ to make sure you wouldn't make a fool of yourself and get yourself fired or something. Mmf!" Will's eyes went wide.

Cecil's hand covered Will's mouth from behind and gently patted his head. "Shhhhh, that's what the government wants you to think." He let go when Will gave him an annoyed expression. Cecil just shrugged. "Fine then. My shift ended like an hour ago. I will leave you two," Will narrowed his eyes at him, "... alone. Ok, bye!" He scurried out the exit frantically.

Nico blinked, confused. "You have weird friends."

The blonde Target employee contemplated if he should agree or ignore the comment. "Well," he turned to Nico, "that means you're one of them." He grinned slightly and lightly nudged his shoulder, careful not to be too awkward.

"Pshh. I'm way cooler than whatever you have up your sleeve. Now help me."

Will added, "Please."

Nico gave him a face as if to say ' _Really?_ '

He harumphed and followed his friend. "Fine. You know, it wouldn't hurt to be polite sometimes. Uh, what are we doing here?"

"My sister needs to restock in her supplies so she sent me to get it. Now help me." Nico paused, "Please."

Will gave him a huge grin, "Why yes of course! Of what can I lend you my assistance?" Nico rolled his eyes. Why did he ever get involved with this dork? "She gave me a list of what to buy and all she put was 'napkins, tampons, avocado, heating pad'."

"Oh," Will's face fell slightly, "those kinds of supplies." They stared unsurely at each other. "Where do we start?"

"Uhh, did she say anything in particular? Like a specific brand?" Nico shook his head. "Wait, I'll ask her." He proceeded to go through his phone and call her.

" _Rrring, rring, rri- Hi, this is Hazel Levesque speaking, may I ask who's calling?"_

"Hi, Hazel, it's me, Nico."

" _Nico! Hi! Did you get the stuff?"_

"Umm, no actually. I was going to ask you what kinds of, um, napkins and, tampons to get you." Speaking on the phone always felt awkward to Nico, especially with this topic. He felt like he needed to do something other than talk so he started pacing along the aisle while Will examined the different kinds of options for napkins.

" _OH! I'm sorry, I didn't say, did I? Just get the normal tampons and the maxi-overnight napkins. And, also, could you get me some candy? I want something sweet."_

"Sure, so I'll get-"

" _Thanks, Nico! I owe you one. bye!"_

"I- wait! Hazel! Hazel?"

"What'd she say?" Nico put his phone back in his pocket. "She said normal tampons and maxi-overnight napkins. And she wants candy."

"What about the heating pads?"

"I forgot to ask. She hung up on me." Nico rubbed his face in exasperation.

"Here." Will tossed him a pack of colorful pads. "I think this should do. My sister buys these kinds so hopefully they should be fine." Nico eyed the packages suspiciously and gingerly placed it in his basket. "You have a sister?"

"Half-sister. I have a lot of half-sisters and brothers." Will followed Nico towards the candy aisles.

"Oh that's cool. A bunch of my friends have half-siblings as well. You know Hazel's my half-sister." He turned and chose random bags of candy off the shelf. "Are you all from your dad, or your mom, or both?"

"Just my dad. I'm one of the older ones…" Will trained off, his mood turning serious.

"HI!" Nico and Will's heads spun towards Lou Ellen who started sprinting towards them. She gave Nico a quick hug, which surprised him, and slung her arm around Will's neck as best she could due to the height differences. "Oh my gosh, how are you, Nico?"

"I-I'm good." He stuttered, still stunned by the fact she gave him a hug. Will on the other hand was cheery again, thankful for Lou Ellen's presence to distract him of his thoughts.

"Woah," she exclaimed looking in his basket. "Napkins, tampons, candy. What is this? A pms basket?" She eyed Nico curiously. Will gave him an annoyed look.

"It is actually! They're for my sister. What's wrong, Will?" Will started fidgeting, his eyes darting from the bags of candy to the shelves. "Uh, it's just, all this candy."

"I know, right? So much candy, so little time." Lou Ellen said.

Will shook his head. "No it's not that. It's, all this candy, it can't be healthy for her." He scanned the basket again and nodded his head as if to approve what he was saying. Lou Ellen smacked the back of his head. "OW! What the- Lou Ellen, what the hell was that for?"

She shrugged. "You were being insensitive. The poor girl must be in lots of pain. Let her be happy and eat the candy. By the way," she furrowed her brows, "Your shift ended like 30 minutes ago. What are you still doing here?"

"Oh, I was just helping Nico, here!" Will answered cheerily. Nico felt his heart beat slightly faster. _Will stayed here just to help me?_ "So, are we done here?" Nico's heartbeat slowed down when he realized Will was just being his helpful self. Oh well, it doesn't hurt to hope. "Yup, I think this'll sustain her."

The three of them walked to the counter, and after he paid, Nico left saying thanks for their help.

* * *

"Hazel! I'm hoooome!" Nico barged in the house, carrying two bags of groceries. "Hazel?" He ran up the stairs to check on his sister. He found her curled up in her blanket, dozing off to sleep.

"Oh, hey, Nico!" Her voice was still sounded kind of nasally and tired. "Sorry, I was just taking a nap."

"Nah, no, I'm sorry for waking you." He held up the bags. "I got the stuff."

"Really?" Her eyes shown brightly as he walked over and sat next to her, passing the bags over. "Oh, yesss! You got the good kind! Thank you, Nico!" She hugged him, "You're the best brother ever!" They smiled at each other before Hazel asked, offering the candy towards him, "You want some?"

He sighed in relief, the temptation getting to him. "I thought you'd never ask."

* * *

 **Fifth chapter! I AM SO SORRY FOR NOT UPDATING SOONER! Summer got really busy and then school just started so I've been trying to find a good time to pick the story up again. Thank you for all the likes and reviews and everything! You guys are great! Suggestions for new chapters (or stories) & PMs are appreciated.**

 **~Phantomosolace**


	6. Chapter 6

**AN: Short clarification ➡ In this universe, Will and Nico are seniors. (In the first chapter, they were finishing up junior year. It's currently Halloween.) Percy & Annabeth are juniors in college. Jason & Piper are sophomores in college. READ ON (plus a second author's note at the end!)**

 **It's getting harder and harder to keep a consistency in this story...**

* * *

"Nico. Wake. Up. Now." Reyna stood over Nico's bed, nudging him with her toe. She sighed when he made no attempt to move. "Look, you can't sleep forever." She walked to the other side. "Get up!"

Nico chose to ignore her attempts to get him out, and slowly rolled so his back was turned towards her.

"Fine then." Reyna pulled the pillow out from under his head and whacked his head with it.

"Owwww. Reyna, that hurt." Nico whined, pulling his blanket to cover his face.

She smirked. "Shush, you big baby. I don't particularly care." She pulled his blanket off and whacked him a second time. "We have a lot to do today. Now get up!" With that, she whacked his body a third time and added, "Breakfast is ready!"

Nico groaned at the unfortunate fact that she was his best friend. So, he yawned, sleepily fell off the bed, and groggily walked towards the kitchen. "Where's Hazel?" he asked Reyna.

"She left thirty minutes ago to finish her part of the list with Frank. Here." she placed a mug of coffee down. He grunted out a thanks. "You're welcome. Once you're finished eating, start cleaning. I'm going to get the stuff for the party." She picked up her purse and turned around with a stern look, "and for goodness sake, you better be done by the time I come back. Bye!"

Not quite fully awake, Nico blinked slowly, trying to digest what Reyna just said. Instead he poured himself a bowl of cereal and munched thoughtfully while looking out the window. He'd spent the entire day watching horror movies (not that he was scared of horror movies, but he didn't enjoy them either) on his laptop in lieu of Halloween festivities. But that was before he found out that … SHOOT.

Yesterday, Hazel had picked up Reyna at the airport. She was going to stay with them until the end of Thanksgiving break. However, on their way back, the two girls apparently threw together an impromptu Halloween party at the di Angelo household. It only just ocurred to Nico that he needed to start getting prepared as the celebration would start roughly around from 3 to 5, depending on the time Percy and Annabeth would arrive from downtown.

He stood up, bumping the table that it shook vigorously and spilled the coffee on the table as he ran to check the time on his phone. The screen flashed. 10:47. Good, he still had about 3 hours to finish cleaning before Reyna would come back and scold his unproductiveness. Oh, and there were about 15 plus texts from Will. Hm.

Nico scrolled through.

 **Nnnnniiiiccccooooo (Fri, 5:43)**

 **Yo, di Angelo, I kinda need help (Fri, 5:44)**

 **Pbbbfff, fine. Be that way O_O (Fri, 5:44)**

 **What'd you get on #5 on the chem review? (Fri, 5:47)**

 **Help, I'm boreddddd (Fri, 6:02)**

And so on and so on. Nico smirked at his texts, but enjoyed the fact that Will had turned to him when he was bored. He texted back a quick response, something along the lines of "sure, I'll see you later".

At the beginning of the school year, Nico appreciated his periodical (if not frequent) trips to Target. Through his weekly grocery trips, he really got to know Will, and albeit grudgingly (it wasn't really grudgingly of course. Nico relished the entire process) became relatively close.

Now that school started though, he was glad he made new friends. The few years before, Nico's only friends had been upperclassmen, but they all graduated and are well off into college, so he was pleased for any extra face he'd recognize in the halls.

He walked back out from his room and entered the kitchen, ready to vacuum, and sighed, only to be face to face with the giant stack of unwashed dishes in the sink accumulated in the last week.

* * *

"Hear me out," Will said dramatically, "Crab Tabs."

"What? That doesn't make sense."

Will gasped. "What do you mean it doesn't make sense? It makes perfect sense!" Nico raised his eyebrows at him as they sat down in the wooden chairs in a coffee shop Will had found around the corner. Nico slouched, slightly affected by the chill of autumn.

Thanks to boredom and Will's job, the two had started to mock all the product names on the shelf, claiming they could think of something way better than whatever the big companies came up with. It continued to be a game even when the school year started. (At times, Will would go as far as to scream his new invention in passing between classes. For example, while exiting calc, Will had yelled 'DINOSAUR BOOKSTORE' and ran to his next class. He'd spend hours trying to think of a new, creative name, just to see the small smirk on Nico's face when he voiced his new idea. Oh, how it brightened Will's day.)

"Sure thing, Solace. Crab. Tabs." Nico said sarcastically. "And what would this _brilliant_ product do?"

"Uh, I… um. It's like um." Nico sniggered silently. "Hey, don't laugh at me! I really _did_ have an idea going!" Will exclaimed jokingly.

"You see, that's your problem." Nico pointed a coffee stirrer at Will. "You can't just make a clever product name by making it rhyme. It's got to have a purpose!"

"Yeah," Will pouted. "You've got to admt though. Crab Tabs seems like a really catchy infomercial name though, doesn't it?"

Nico nodded his head slightly. "Yeah," he said quietly, "I guess it does." He felt his cheeks redden at the fact he agreed with Solace, and Will's cheeks did the same when he realized Nico approved.

"Di Angelo, we've got to go now." Their necks snapped up, only to be met with Reyna's smug look from the door of the shop.

"Wh-wha-wai-wha- how did you find me here?" Nico stammered.

She shrugged, "Just passing by. Now come on! Jason and Piper are arriving any minute now and we aren't even near your house yet!"

"Oh, uh, ok, um, bye, Will!" Nico squeaked and hurriedly walked quickly out the door.

"Oh yeah, Solace, we're having a Halloween party later today. Do you think you can come?" Reyna asked, sticking her head out from the door.

Will, surprised he was invited, responded, "Yeah, I don't have any plans anyway."

"Cool. Just come by Nico's house any time you want. He'll text you if the plans change. Bye!" She walked out of the shop faster than Will could ask any more questions. Nico stood wide-eyed on the street. "Reyna!"

"Shhh, I just did you a favor. You wouldn't stop staring at each other. Now come on, hopefully the decorations will be up by now."

* * *

 **Well that took way longer than it should've. Sorry I haven't updated in a (very long) while. Ever since the school year started, I've been having trouble keeping this story up. I also apologize for the choppiness and shortened length of this chapter. I have a bad case of writer's block.**

 **Anyway, THANK YOU SO MUCH to all those who read, followed, favorited, and or commented on my story when I was gone! Your thoughts mean so much to me, and your positive reviews help keep my hopes up in finding a new idea for this story.**

 **Speaking of which… as always, I ask of all of you to help me and send in possible story lines or suggestions you might want. Again, y'all are awesome, and I'm sorry for not updating sooner!**

 **~ Phantomosolace**


	7. Chapter 7

**Oh look! A new chapter has arrived… after 3, excruciating months? I am so sorry for not updating sooner! School work's been heavy the past few weeks, so I've been a bit preoccupied. Anyway, here's a sort-of Christmas special? As always, follow/favorite/comment if you liked the story!**

* * *

"Stop it."

"Huh? What?"

Nico turned and smirked, challenging him as he looked at Will. "Stop following me."

"Wh-whaat? I wasn't following you!"

"Solace, you're the only other person in this aisle." Nico said quite bluntly.

"So? I came here to look for… swimming goggles?" Will picked a plastic container with a bright orange pair inside, nearly knocking off a whole shelf of swimming toys in the clumsy process.

Nico just sighed. "Look, if you're going to make a lie, at least make it sound convincing. It's still winter time, and you picked up goggles meant for a toddler."

"Well, what if I… um, what if…" Nico raised his eyebrow at Will. "Oh! I know! What if I was actually buying swimming goggles for, uh, I don't know, some kid I know who likes to swim in indoor pools?"

"Hm. That's terribly far-fetched, don't you think?" He asked.

"At least I tried!" Will said triumphantly.

"'Do or do not. There is no try.'" At this point, Nico turned back around and walked the next aisle knowing Will would follow.

"Hey! Now don't go quoting Star Wars to me!"

"Why not? It's a free country."

Will shrugged. "Fair enough."

In actuality though, Nico had known Will had been following him ever since he entered the store. Will's height and blond hair didn't help his cause at all, nor did his loud, heavy footsteps help either. It was a good thing he was cute, Nico reasoned.

"Anyway," Will gestured to his left with his shoulder, "what are you doing in the in the sports aisle? I didn't take you as a very athletic person." Nico scrunched his eyebrows. "I mean, you _are_ a very athletic person. I know. You've told me before. I just didn't take you as the sporty type, that's all."

Nico snorted. "Ha. No, I'm sorry. I only walked around for no reason to see how long you were going to keep stalking me. Which, by the way, what were you going to do with that?"

"Oh, I was planning on scaring you. But we can all see how that turned out." Nico gave a cheeky smile. Will continued, "Why? Am I not allowed to stalk my boyfriend?" he said, slinging an arm around Nico's shoulders.

Both their faces turned very red.

Will's face however expressed pure joy, with a proud and exuberant smile that stretched across his face. Nico's face was all the more red. Although he gave a small smile, Will could see Nico's eyes showed much delight and satisfaction.

* * *

A lot had happened since the Halloween party. Both would say that their lives had taken quite a positive turn. Will's presence at the party had in fact resulted in Nico having a very eventful night. Well not _that_ eventful.

It just so happened the the two (including all of their friends at the impromptu Halloween party) were high off of the crazy amounts of sugar from all the candy they consumed. Their highly energized minds decided to watch a couple of horror movies, which was obviously a terrible idea from the start.

However, all throughout the movies that they watched, whenever something scary happened, Nico would stay stoic as ever while Will would go to Nico for comfort.

All their friends agreed the two were adorable.

Long story short, Will and Nico had heard their friends discussing this fact,

(Jason: "Oh my gosh did you see the way his head rested on Will's arm at the end? That was _so_ sweet!"

Percy: "Bro, have you even been paying attention to how Will looks at Nico? I mean, relationship goals, bro."

Jason: "Bro, I know."

Percy: " _Bro._ "

Annabeth:

Piper:

Nico: "So what's this with me and Will?"

Percy: "NICO! I'M INNOCENT PLEASE DON'T KILL ME!"

Jason: "Oh uh hey, N-N-Nico.")

and after an eternity of bickering, some chasing, and a calming and very honest conversation with Will, Nico had declared that yes, a relationship between the two would be possible.

Time skip a few weeks later, their friendship had grown enormously (although it was mostly Will trying to, for lack of a better word, seduce Nico) more outside than inside school so that Nico was invited to the Solace's large Thanksgiving celebration.

During winter break, Will tried his best to entertain Nico during the short, cold days after learning about the story of Bianca, Nico's beloved, older sister who had died sometime in December. They weren't an official couple yet, but the two cuddled together quite often on Nico's couch as they watched various documentaries of Will's choice.

They couldn't spend Christmas together, but they did spend the day after Christmas rolling in the snow and watching Star Wars: The Force Awakens for what happened to be the fifth time they had watched it together, the big nerds. **(Note: That doesn't even account for how many times they watched it without each other.)**

It wasn't until the end of Christmas break that the two got together. The whole 'kiss at midnight' thing on New Year's day certainly surprised Nico. He still blushes at the thought of it every time he thinks of the moment Will had suddenly closed the gap between them and - well, he should save that memory for later. Both of them, although they never admitted it to each other, relished that kiss (and really every kiss after that until the end of eternity) because that was the first time they had been kissed properly on the mouth by someone they loved. It was all very refreshing.

Now, nearing the end of January, neither boy has told anyone, though Will was pretty sure that at least Hazel, Piper, Annabeth, and Reyna had figured it out by now if he was going by their sly suggestions and suggestive gestures.

All in all, they were very happy.

* * *

"Ha. You just like saying that." Nico said, as they walked toward the fruits and vegetables.

"Saying what? Pray tell, my good man." Will replied jokingly.

"You know, declaring that I'm - that we're- you know, boyfriends." Nico had surveyed the area just in case there had been someone listening to their conversation. He picked up a tomato and lightly pressed it to see if it was firm enough. "Can you pass me a plastic bag?"

While Will walked over to tear off a bag he said,"Why shouldn't I be? You make me happy, and the thought of us together makes me happy. I want to shout it from the rooftops!"

"I do to, Will, but we're keeping it a secret, remember? Thanks." Nico put the tomatoes in his basket and walked on to observe the other vegetables. He wrinkled his nose in disgust at the celery.

Will came back with a bag of red fruits. "You should get some apples. I bought some yesterday, and they were really sweet."

"You just want to say 'An apple a day, keeps the doctor away' don't you." Nico said, put he put the apples with the tomatoes anyway.

"Yep!" Will grinned. His expression changed from joyful to thoughtful when he said, "When are we planning on telling people though? What's the point of keeping it a secret?"

"What's the point of keeping what a secret?"

They turned in surprise.

"Jason! What are you doing here?" Nico exclaimed in horror.

"NOTHING." Will cried out. "Absolutely nothing of your concern." He added sweetly.

Jason eyed the two boys suspiciously. "I'm not buying it."

Will and Nico gave each other a look and had a brief conversation using facial expressions. Suddenly, Will decided to say, "Nico got a new cat."

Jason looked surprised, as if he was expecting some other news. "Another one? I thought you and Hazel said Bastet was enough trouble!"

Nico glared at Will while Will just shrugged sheepishly. "...Yeah, I just wanted some new company." He said slowly.

Jason laughed. "At this rate, Neeks, you'll be an old, cat lady by the time you get to college!"

"Haha! Yeah." Nico's laugh was painfully fake and sarcastic.

Jason, with a concerned expression on his face, just said, "Ok then. Fancy seeing you two here. I better get going or else I'm going to be late for my date! See ya around! Oh, and Nico!" Nico's head perked up. "You better send me a picture of this cat! Oh, wait, I forgot, Hazel invited Piper and I for dinner next week, right? We'll just see each other then. I've got to go, guys. Bye!"

"Bye!" Nico and Will waved back to Jason. As soon as he was out of sight, Nico pulled Will down to his height and said "You better be paying for this cat."

Will gulped. "Sure thing."

"Oh, and Will?" He looked into Nico's eyes. "I realized there isn't any reason for keeping it a secret. I just kinda felt scared. I think we're ready. Oh. And, you better be paying for some cat food, too."

* * *

 **Thank you all so, so much! I'm overjoyed whenever one of y'all favorites and follows my story! Your comments are all so amazing! I also realized that over 100 of y'all actually read this story that I've created and written and I think that's amazing.**

 **I'm so sorry for the long wait. I hope this chapter was worth it! Tell me your thoughts! Would you rather see a new chapter on a story only to find out it's an author's note declaring they're going to put their story on hiatus? Or would you prefer waiting months for the story continue? Also, while you're doing that, you should leave a comment on how you think the story's going!**

 **I'm not completely sure if I should continue this. I'm also super unsure of what I should write next. I feel kinda conflicted. PM me if you have any ideas! I find it very difficult to write this because 1.) I'm not in a relationship, so I can't write from experience. 2.) I'm not gay. and 3.) School is killing me. Plz help.**

 **~Phantomosolace**


	8. Chapter 8

**...I'm really sorry, guys. I've been trying to get around to writing but honestly I feel like I've died physically, spiritually, emotionally, mentally...etc. Sometimes I wish the days were longer so I could get more sleep and reflect more and write more, but other days I just want the day to end as soon as I wake up, you know? Anyway, y'all have been really supportive and really nice, I'm glad to have wonderful readers like you.**

" **There's a million things I haven't done. But just you wait. JUST YOU WAIT!" I really need to work on working my life out T-T. Here's to a new chapter! As always, like/review/comment if you enjoyed the newest update! I'm always open to suggestions! (Also, I haven't been able to get Trials of Apollo and I'm literally going to explode if any of you send spoilers of any kind.)**

* * *

He couldn't sleep. Sure, he was a bit of an insomniac in the past, but he'd just recently been able to sleep peacefully through the nights. This, however, was different.

Nico spent years building up the walls around his heart.

He didn't want anyone to come in. No one was supposed to understand him. For years, he'd perfected the art of hiding, of being ignored, by making his body language, facial expressions, and aura radiate darkness, commanding people around him to give him some goddamn space to think, but all the more pleading for help.

He hated himself. Nico would rather face the most annoying person on the planet than have to face the demons inside him. To face the his obvious socially awkward personality, the stupidity of his dreams, his regrets of caring too much and caring too little, the colorless life he'd led after the death of his family. He was his least favorite person. The more time he was left alone in his desolate world, the more Nico realized what a pain in the ass he must have been. He couldn't even fathom as to why anyone would want to be friends with him, much less love him. As Nico lay awake in his bed for the past couple of weeks, he lost countless hours of sleep on this subject.

Why now?

Even in his childhood he'd never been this happy. In fact, young Nico had developed a theory that he was just a supporting character in a book, that his life essentially meant nothing except to aid a protagonist. As crazy as he seemed, Nico truly believed that he wasn't even the leading role of his own life. At least if he was neither a protagonist nor an antagonist, he wouldn't have to be in the spotlight, but still be able to be a pivotal character in the plot. Up until now, up until he found a Will, he'd never have guessed that he had the potential of being the protagonist.

This particular night, Nico was procrastinating as usual. He spent his time texting his boyfriend and listing off his insecurities about their relationship that invaded his mind.

Was he just infatuated with him? No, Will's a really nice boy with a knack for patience and compassion and kindness and ...etc. It just happened to be a plus that he was an amazing kisser and had a heart warming smile that made Nico's world spin.

Did Will ever find Nico lame? Maybe? Probably?

Did he spend too much time thinking about him? Yes. Definitely way too much.

It's just- he just- he didn't know- how could anyone as affectionate as Will ever like someone like Nico? He literally was waiting for Will to finish driving home from the hospital where he did his volunteer hours while Nico stared hopelessly at a blank screen, begging his laptop to write a scholarly essay about the literary analysis of Dante's Inferno that he was pretty sure Will probably finished the day after their teacher handed them the prompt.

They were so different. If someone were to ask them "What's up?", Will would most likely reply with "Nothing much, you?" or some jokingly sarcastic response like "The sky.", while as Nico would say something like "The body count."

Will was determined into becoming a surgeon or a doctor, someone who could cure diseases and make people's lives better. Nico was pretty sure he'd end up in forensic sciences and probably study dead people, or like, work at a morgue or something.

All these thought raced through his mind like in the minutes he waited for Will to reply to his text.

Nico checked his phone every thirty seconds. Maybe he missed the notification on the screen. Or something glitched and Will responded but his phone received it late or something.

A minute- two minutes passed. He started to get anxious and worry about what he sent.

Three minutes. No worry, Will usually responded within five minutes. Still, he felt really stupid.

Five minutes. Nico started to regret all his life decision starting with that text.

Six minutes. He had to put his phone across the room (the ringer on full volume so that he'd hear it for sure).

Seven- eight- nine- ten-fifteen-thirty. Nothing.

He continued to wait, faithfully, his phone now sitting next to him on his pillow.

After an hour, Nico fell asleep, knocked out in such a deep sleep that he didn't get to see Will's text.

 **Love you too, Neeks. Sleep tight! 333(Wed, 11:34)**

Needless to say, Will was surprised the next morning in the school parking lot when Nico kissed him out of nowhere out of pure relief and affection.

* * *

 **So, yeah, I'm sorry that it's really short. I promise I'll write something way longer than this next time. I wrote this purely on impulse so please forgive me if there are any cases of incorrect grammar throughout the text. This chapter was inspired by my own thoughts and experiences I've had in the past. Thanks for reading! See ya next time!**

 **~Phantomosolace**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hey guys! It's been a (long) while since I've updated my story… I'm so sorry T.T**

 **I started this chapter three months ago, but then I restarted it, and then re-edited it. And then I went on a two month vacation with my family which was a bit of a setback. But now I'm back and I've finished the chapter!**

 **Thank you** _ **all**_ **so much for your wonderful reviews and comments! You've been keeping my spirits up the past year. (Can y'all believe it's been a year?) I really hope y'all are enjoying my fic so far. I suggest y'all to reread the past chapters just as a refresher for what's going on (even I had to reread them. I can't even remember my own story). I'm sorry for all of my breaks and such.**

 **Anyway, I present to you, Chapter 9.**

* * *

Nico di Angelo internalized his problems. It was a simple observation, really. He first realized this when his father brought him to a therapist after his mother and sister died and found that only he could fix his problems and not some stranger who knew nothing about him. It was way more easier to deal with his own problems than to have to explain them to someone.

So he went on in life believing no one would ever understand him.

Sullen as always, Nico was convinced, even throughout his worst years of depression, that no one could help him. He always wondered that when normal people ever got this sad, they'd reach out to...other people. Friends. Family. Loved ones.

Nico always spent his long nights by himself, often crying himself to sleep, or until he saw the sun rise in the early morning. Often he'd find himself begging for someone, or something to save him from his thoughts, make him feel safe. And ultimately loved.

Now, present day, he never knew what he did to deserve William goddamn Solace. His Will to live.

If any normal person looked at a timeline of Nico's life up till now, they probably would've expected that this would happen. That Nico would eventually open up and have a happy ending.

However, poor Nico never believed what was happening to his life. He was finally seeing all the people who cared for him, his friends, his family. He couldn't believe that some days he actually had a full night of sleep and woke up feeling happy.

He couldn't believe that he found someone that saved him - well, actually Will had only made Nico aware that he could save himself on his own and helped him along the way (as Will acknowledged the fact that his boyfriend was the strongest and most independent person he's ever met) - and most of all Nico couldn't believe the love (although he snorted at the fact knowing that Will's sappiness was rubbing off on him).

He never complained though.

Will and Nico were currently about to get dinner after just finishing watching Deadpool (for like the 4th time) when they happened to run into Hazel doing homework in the living room.

"Hey, Nico." She gave a puzzled look. "Oh Will! I didn't know you were here! **(AN: Lol, of course she knew Will was there. They're always together.)** What're you two up to?"

"Oh, um, Nico and I were just - um - studying for… our calculus final." Will sputtered, trying to pass it off coolly even though his worry made his face resemble that of a sad, concerned puppy.

The two seniors however were both exempted from all their exams due to their effective study (and makeout) sessions with each other.

However, the three of them knew that was a fib, especially from Will's terrible deliver of the lie. Despite the fact that Will almost slipped and told their secret, Nico had to admit he looked adorable when flustered.

"Yeah, um we're just heading out to grab some food. Do you want anything?" Nico said quickly.

"Nah, I think I'm good. We still have some pizza left in the fridge if I get hungry anyway." She eyed them cautiously. "Drive safe. Don't be out too late!"

Will could've sworn she winked at him.

* * *

"She is definitely onto us."

Will glanced at Nico before turning into the drive-thru at McDonald's.

Nico nodded as if to support his claim. "Hazel undoubtedly suspects that we're together."

Will shrugged. "I'm pretty sure a lot of people think something's up."

"Trust me, Annabeth's known since I first mentioned your name a few months ago." Will snorted "I mean, she knew about my crush on Percy when _I_ didn't even know I had a crush on him," Nico said throwing his hands up halfheartedly.

Will scrunched his nose a little teasingly, saying "Yeah, but Annabeth knows everything." He had a light smirk on his face as he noticed Nico change the radio channel at the sound of some pop song they're always playing at school pep rallies. "Wait, remind me again why we're keeping us a secret?" Will asked in a more honest innocence with a genuine confused face rather than an accusatory tone.

"Well originally we were going to tell people when we're ready, which is stupid," Will nodded in agreement, "because we're both sure of each other. The real reason we're - well, really, _I'm_ \- waiting to tell them is because I'm not sure _they're_ ready. (Will made an ' _ohh'_ face) Plus, it serves as good torture for those who can see the fake romantic tension we have in public."

"Oh my goodness, Nico," Will snickered, "You're terrible!" He suddenly registered how all of their actions in public (the almost hand holding and subtle flirting) must've looked if people thought the two were 'just friends'.

"Don't I know it." Nico gave him a mischievous grin. "Jason looks like he's about to tear his hair out of his head when he's around us. Oh wait, don't you have that volunteering thing tomorrow?"

"Yeah, I need more hours for my internship," Will sighed. Nico gave him a small pout and huffed. Will seemed spending more and more time focused on his work more than anything lately.

They both turned quiet as Will gave their usual order and drove up to the window to pick up their food.

"I can't believe we've kept us a secret for this long though!" Will exclaimed.

"Yeah, me too," Nico muttered. His cheeks flushed slightly, barely noticeable in the odd lighting of the parking lot. It was a miracle he could keep his cool whenever Will was around. "Here." He shoved a couple of fries in Will's mouth.

"Wha- pfsmhch-" Will tried to ask but instead chewed for a few seconds before swallowing, "Thanks."

"No problem."

They stayed relatively quiet for the rest of the drive home, Nico occasionally sharing his food while Will munched on his burger at every stop.

By the time they got home, they were both tired and agreed that Will would stay over without discussion. It wasn't the first time he's stayed over anyhow.

The night ended with Will protectively holding Nico in his arms as they drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Nico stirred from his sleep when he heard footsteps coming upstairs. He groaned irritated from the light peeking out from behind his curtains and noticed Will was gone.

He figured Will probably woke up about two hours ago and already ate breakfast, and was now going to wake him up, so when he heard someone knock on his door, Nico just whined, throwing his blanket over his head.

"Let me sleep," he mumbled quietly when his door opened. He thought he felt Will gently nudge his back. Nico groaned again trying a different approach, "Will, come back to bed."

"Uhh, I'm not Will."

And in Nico's 10 am delirium, he remembered too late that his boyfriend was out getting volunteering hours.

He slowly uncovered his face from his blanket, his face red from embarrassment and shame for not being careful enough, and was met by Jason's confused gaze.

"Wha- dude, I was just gonna wake you up. Wait," His face scrunched up. _Oh schist,_ Nico thought, _he's figuring it out_. Jason's eyes grew wide. "Oh. My. Stars."

Nico's face was getting redder, "It's not what you think!"

Jason stepped back, eyes still wide, trying to rationalize the situation. "Oh my go- wait wait wait, so are you two together now?" (Jason wasn't sure if he was supposed to be excited or concerned at this point.)

Nico's face wasn't as red anymore as the seconds passed by, but his complexion was getting paler and paler. "Uhhhh"

"Because I mean, if you slept in the same bed it usually means you're together, unless it was, like, just a booty call-"

"Jason!" Nico's blush came back full on.

He started pacing now, "I mean, it's not _unlikely_ , Nico. Wait, was it a booty call?" He turned to him.

Nico sat up, "Oh my god, Jason, it wa-"

"AH, put your clothes on, man!" Jason exclaimed at the sight of shirtless Nico (as he assumed the rest of his body might not have been clothed).

"What?" Nico looked down, "Oh my - for the love of god- Jason!" Jason looked back at him. "I'm wearing clothes, you idiot. I don't wear my shirt when it's hot."

"Are you two together though?" Again, Jason was conflicted between being elated and concerned.

Nico considered lying, but there really was no going back in this case. He sighed, "Yes."

Jason pursed his lips, mostly to hide his smile to the news, "How long?"

"A month or so," Nico replied. It was actually three months and four and a half days.

Jason had to turn away, trying to pass it off as disappointment, but he couldn't hide the grin on his face. Sure, he lost 20 bucks in the bet, and Annabeth won the jackpot, but _oh my gosh_ Jason was just happy Nico and Will were together now.

Nico's door opened again and Piper poked her head in, "Hey, guys."

Jason couldn't hold it in anymore. He started snickering and giggling while his girlfriend looked at him worriedly.

"What?" Nico stared at his friend with confusion, "Why are you-" And then Nico realized Jason was laughing with glee.

"What are you laughing about?" Piper asked just as confused as Nico.

"Hahaha, oh it's just that Ni- wait" Jason turned to Nico, "Can I tell her?" he asked with a giant, cheeky grin on his face.

"Sure, I don't see why not. It was gonna come out somehow." Nico murmured.

Piper stepped in his room, "Tell me what?"

Jason suppressed his laughter before speaking. "They're together, Pipes!" Jason blurted out happily.

Almost instantaneously a wide smile broke out on Piper's face. "Oh my gosh! Congratulations, Nico!", she exclaimed, walking over to Nico to give him a hug. She chuckled a little, obviously as elated as Jason, who had also joined them to hug Nico.

And although Nico rolled his eyes, he was glad to have friends like them.

* * *

 **Once again, I'm so sorry for the wait. This fic started off on a small idea that I had, and I've been trying my best to develop the storyline and improve my writing. Thank you all so much for the positive feedback. I have taken a lot of the suggestions into consideration for my future chapters. I've already started on the next chapter (I hope it doesn't take as long as it did to write this one).**

 **Follow, favorite, review and or PM me about this story if you liked it! All suggestions and critique are welcome.**

 **~Phantomosolace**


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